Another superb book from Barbara Erskine guaranteeing a superb read.
Having read most of Barbara Erskine's books, I must say I find The Ghost Tree to be her best to date. This is one book you won't want to put down once you start reading as it will keep you turning each page from beginning to end.
Barbara writes in her usual own unique style which is free-flowing and totally descriptive in that you are totally engaged with the storyline and feel as if you are also a character in the book itself as Barbara has this gift of drawing the reader into her books.
The story is an excellent read from the beginning to the end and tells of Ruth having found a diary that perhaps with hindsight should have been left where she found it, but unknown to her this find would change her life forever, and not for the best either. She has to deal with some very dark matters and some not very friendly people too and will she find a solution to all the problems thrown at her, the answer to that question is to read this most enjoyable book.
Another successful book by Barbara Erskine
Ghosts, pirates, criminals and voodoo ... All are waiting between the pages of this amazing book. Hold on tight as Erskine takes us on an amazing journey between 18th century England/Scotland and the present day. An absolute must for loyal readers, and if you are new to Barbara Erskine's books this is a great one to start with! Unputdownable.
Another brilliant time slip novel from Barbara Erskine, but this time based on her own family history! Thomas Erskine comes to life brilliantly, first as a small boy, then as a grown man and father, in eighteenth-century England and Scotland. We are pulled effortlessly into the atmosphere and customs of the time, as the action switches between there and the present day. Ghosts, pirates, criminals, voodoo ... this exciting and enthralling story has it all. Highly recommended for both loyal and new readers. I couldn't put it down!
Another excellent book from the number one time-slip novel author. The present day and the 18th-century running side by side in an extremely interesting approach to sharing ancient family history with the populace!
I love Barbara Erskine's books. Her writing is so effortless to read and keeps you turning the pages, long after you should really have been going to sleep.
Her latest novel is written this time with a different slant and based on a past revered ancestor (her 5 x great grandfather Thomas Erskine) which was very interesting and she has done so much research to put the flesh on the bones of the stories which were passed down through her family about him.
I did find this novel a bit harder to get into initially but after a few chapters it started to sort itself out and I was off. She slips easily from the past to the present and back again, often from one section to another within the same chapter so I did sometimes find myself having to re-read a few lines again because I'd been 'caught out'! I really got engrossed in Thomas's story and probably found it more interesting than the present day story running alongside, unfortunately.
My only 'regret', for want of a better description, is that whilst Andrew Farquhar is a nasty piece of work, both alive and dead, this book didn't 'scare' me or send shivers down my spine in the way some of her previous novels have, such as Midnight Is A Lonely Place or House Of Echoes which I loved. But I would still recommend The Ghost Tree and I'll be waiting impatiently for Barbara's next book to be released which can never be soon enough for me.
Once again Barbara Erskine has written a novel that will keep the reader enthralled and reading into the early hours. This time, her inspiration has come from her own family history. A perfect book for the long Winter nights.
Present day Edinburgh, and Ruth has returned back to her roots, following the death of her father. While she is looking through all the boxes he has left behind she finds an old diary from the 18th century, belonging to Thomas Erskine, as she reads, Ruth becomes consumed with wanting to find out more about him.
Thomas came from a rather noble family. As he was the youngest son, his life is anything but extraordinary. As Ruth reads the diary, she starts to feel she is not alone, and the dreams are not helping. Is Thomas sending her messages in her dreams? Who is the vile presence she feels around her? Is it strong enough to attack? Looking for answers she enlists the help of her friends Harriet and Fin, a celebrated Chef, add to the mixture Timothy, the strange man, who cared for her father, and claims to be her half brother, is he who he claims to be?
The Ghost Tree has everything you could wish for: ghosts, seances, handsome heroes and strong women. Once again Barbara has written a fantastic thrilling book, one that is based loosely on her own ancestors. A book for the long Autumn / Winter evenings.
Devastating family secrets forms the basis for this interesting and complex family drama.
After her father’s death Ruth returns to the family home in Edinburgh only to find that there is someone there who wishes to infiltrate every aspect of Ruth’s life and even though her relationship with her family has been difficult, and more especially with her father, Ruth is really unhappy to learn that there are details about her family of which she knew absolutely nothing. Further exploration into her family’s dark past reiterates just how many secrets have been hidden.
As with all of this author’s previous work there is a definite shifting of time and very cleverly the story moves between the present and the eighteenth century, and as it does so a dark and ghostly atmosphere starts to pervade. The author writes with authority because in creating The Ghost Tree she has dipped into her own rather complicated family history and, in doing so, has written an emotionally charged story which is based on factual historical evidence.
To be honest I found the historical aspects of the story rather stronger that the present day story but taken as a whole I thought that the content of the book had a real authenticity to it and all credit to the author for using her own family history in order to create such a fascinating dual time narrative.